Basket-style carriers are commonly employed to package beverage bottles. A conventional arrangement includes opposite side panels spaced from a center handle partition to form an article receiving area on each side of the handle partition. A separate cell is commonly provided for each bottle by dividers extending between the handle partition and the side panels. Normally, the carriers are fabricated from a blank which is folded and glued into collapsed carrier form, after which the collapsed carrier is erected and loaded with bottles. When designed to carry four to eight bottles, the finished package is strong and easy to carry, providing sufficient rigidity so that when picked up and carried there is no sagging or other suggestion of weakness.
Problems of rigidity arise, however, when greater numbers of bottles, for example twelve, are packaged in a carrier of conventional design. The length of the carrier must be extended to such an extent that the carrier can give an impression of flimsiness when picked up, even though it may have sufficient strength to support the load. This could be reduced somewhat by forming the carrier from thicker paperboard stock, but that would increase the cost of the carrier and still would not entirely overcome the inherent tendency of an elongated carrier to feel less than rigid when lifted and carried.
It would be highly desirable to provide a carrier capable of holding large numbers of bottles or other articles which not only is strong enough to support the load but provides a feeling of rigidity when lifted and carried.